The UAE has been India’s evergreen growth partner, through trade, investments, job creation and remittances. And there is scope for more, made clear by the leaders of the two nations amid a series of bilateral summits over the years.
The efforts are showing: The UAE is one of the biggest FDI investors in India. India also gets 8% of its crude oil supply from the UAE.
The UAE also is home to the largest concentration of Indians outside India — at a staggering 3.3 million, playing a big role in the economic development of the emirates. The UAE is also the biggest source of remittances to India at nearly $14 billion. There is more.
After China and the US, the UAE has become India’s third-largest trading partner with value of trade pegged at nearly $60 billion, and it is understandable that the two nations now want to raise to $100 billion, getting impetus from a diversifying trade basket and a timely currency swap agreement for trade at predetermined exchange rate.
Emerging trends indicate that the UAE is fast becoming a tourism, manufacturing, logistics, IT, entrepreneurship and education hub for Indians and companies from India.
In this energised scenario, platforms such as UAE-India Economic Forum (UIEF) have become essential for companies and investors where they congregate and network and tap into this unique synergy between the two countries, linked with a strategic partnership.
Now, close on the heels of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE-India Economic Forum, now in its fifth edition, is again bringing together key officials and business leaders look at different ways to deepen trade and investment between the two nations.
The event is being organised by Business Live Middle East, the region’s fastest growing business website, and held with the support of the Indian Consulate in Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Economy.
UIEF comes a fresh agenda, where the delegates will brainstorm on new opportunities for partnerships with sessions on infrastructure, information technology, fintech, healthcare, food corridors, aviation, tourism and start-ups.
The UAE-India Economic Forum will also felicitate government and industry leaders, who have worked towards nurturing ties between the two nations, with the Qadat Al Tagheer Awards.
For the first time, the event will also set up a start-up zone where entrepreneurs from the two countries can pitch ideas to investors.
